Dolphins legend Jason Taylor, for example, grew up right before our eyes, from a skinny Akron kid to a future Hall of Famer, his very public path out in front of those lights for 15 years. But take a look at what was happening in the dark. He was just a few blessed hours from having his leg amputated. He played games, plural, with a hidden and taped catheter running from his armpit to his heart. His calf was oozing blood for so many months, from September of one year to February of another, that he had to have the equivalent of a drain installed.

I think that's the best article Le Batard has wrote his entire career. It also made me think of football in an entirely different light. I knew there was a seedier side to the game but I didn't know how seedy it was.

Fantastic article. I'm honestly not sure if I even want to know this stuff; somewhat like I want the burger not the cow. These players kill their body for our entertainment and receive good money to do so, but it that fair? We as fan demand them warriors and the players demand even more from themselves each other. We lament RG3 while condemning Cutler.

Even if we fans knew all the dirty secrets, I'm not sure the outrage is more than our desire to watch the game we love. This is the tragedy that goes with the triumph of the game. Ignorance is bliss.

Fantastic article. I'm honestly not sure if I even want to know this stuff; somewhat like I want the burger not the cow. These players kill their body for our entertainment and receive good money to do so, but it that fair? We as fan demand them warriors and the players demand even more from themselves each other. We lament RG3 while condemning Cutler.

Even if we fans knew all the dirty secrets, I'm not sure the outrage is more than our desire to watch the game we love. This is the tragedy that goes with the triumph of the game. Ignorance is bliss.

Why do you even feel remotely sorry for them? They choose to put themselves through this. After reading this article, it makes me think that NFL players are mentally ill and addicts.

In theory they have a choice, but honestly very few guys even consider not playing. The money is too good. Where else can Marshawn Lynch earn millions? I would consider cutting off one of my legs for the cash these guys get. If enduring excruciating pain and slowly turning my brains to mush gets me millions and secures my families future, then is it really a choice?

The money, attention, & fame it too much to just walk away. Maybe if I already had millions and millions stored away then I would think about it. The players most valuable resource is their bodies and football is the best way to use it.

Taylor was leg-whipped during a game once in Washington. Happens all the time. Common. He was sore and had a bruise, but the pregame Toradol and the postgame pain medicine and prescribed sleeping pills masked the suffering, so he went to dinner and thought he was fine. Until he couldn’t sleep. And the medication wore off. It was 2 a.m. He noticed that the only time his calf didn’t hurt is when he was walking around his house or standing. So he found a spot that gave him relief on a staircase and fell asleep standing up, leaning against the wall. But as soon as his leg would relax from the sleep, the pain would wake him up again. He called the team trainer and asked if he could take another Vicodin. The trainer said absolutely not. This need to kill the pain is what former No. 1 pick Keith McCants says started a pain-killer addiction that turned to street drugs when the money ran out … and led him to try to hang himself to break the cycle of pain.

The trainer rushed to Taylor’s house. Taylor thought he was overreacting. The trainer told him they were immediately going to the hospital. A test kit came out. Taylor’s blood pressure was so high that the doctors thought the test kit was faulty. Another test. Same crazy numbers. Doctors demanded immediate surgery. Taylor said absolutely not, that he wanted to call his wife and his agent and the famed Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion. Andrews also recommended surgery, and fast. Taylor said, fine, he’d fly out in owner Daniel Snyder’s private jet in the morning. Andrews said that was fine but that he’d have to cut off Taylor’s leg upon arrival. Taylor thought he was joking. Andrews wasn’t. Compartment syndrome. Muscle bleeds into the cavity, causing nerve damage. Two more hours, and Taylor would have had one fewer leg. Fans later sent him supportive notes about their own compartment syndrome, many of them in wheelchairs.

Any player is free to walk away. It's like the training room quotes the article mentions: "being in the training room doesn't make you part of the team" - "be a player, not a patient." All the talk about "family" in football conversation is nice, but what unites them in that camaraderie is the desire to win above all else, not to be healthy. The levels of physical exertion and risk are precisely what make the NFL uniquely compelling as a sport.

Car accidents kill thousands of people every year, but we like them too much to stop driving them. It's just a bunch of advertising politics. There are other dangerous professions that offer their workers less compensation. We only worry about the NFL because it's seen as entertainment. And I think that's kind of a shame, too, because it means we've lost the basic connection to the players we watch which appreciates their personal struggles every week in the pursuit of victory. We've been reduced to wringing out hands and wondering if we should feel guilty for enjoying a sport. But they'd never attack the coal industry for what it puts its miners through. At least, not week-in and week-out, despite it affecting far more people. We "need" that. There's plenty of ****** jobs out there, each with their own unique toll.

Its entertainment for us but these stories really bring a different light to this "game". Its eye opening, to say the least, what measures this players go through for 3 hours on Sunday. A side of the game that every fan should be aware of. Its a grueling profession and its not all fame and glory. Personally, Im glad that this side of the game is becoming more exposed. We get on Goodell but theres a reason behind whats hes doing. Even if you dont like the safety rules that are being implemented, I ask that you atleast understand them and eventually respect them.